Catching up with four-year-olds

Proposition 82, which would fund preschool education for all California 4-year-olds, has inspired debate about the role of the state in early childhood development.

Proposition 82, which would fund preschool education for all California 4-year-olds, has inspired debate about the role of the state in early childhood development. Are public investments in preschool good for children8217;s educations and for their well being?8230;

No other social program has been evaluated more than preschool education. Since the early 1960s, thousands of short- and long-term studies have been conducted across the country of many programs serving many populations. Findings have been remarkably consistent 8212; and remarkably positive.

The strongest evidence demonstrates preschool8217;s economic benefits. A much-discussed 2005 Rand Corp study found that a universal program of high quality for all California 4-year-olds would return to society from 2 to 4 for every dollar invested. That8217;s a conservative calculation8230;

Since 1985, my colleagues and I have studied the 40-year-old Child-Parent Center, a preschool operated by the Chicago school system that was a key source of the evidence in the Rand report. Our cost-benefit analysis showed that the half-day program yielded a return of 10.15 per dollar invested8230;

There are those who assert that the Chicago outcomes simply reflect the fact that the Child-Parent Center serves low-income children, who have the most to gain from preschool. But the good news extends far beyond one program and one income group.

In Oklahoma, more than two-thirds of 4-year-olds participate in state-run universal preschools. Evaluations show that in early literacy, program participants from all socioeconomic backgrounds were seven to eight months ahead of children not in the program8230; a study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that high-quality child care, which included many of the elements associated with preschool, was linked to greater achievement in regular school among a sample of predominantly college-educated, middle-income families8230;

We all know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In the same way, a dollar invested in preschool returns many more in benefits for society. If Proposition 82 passes, about 500,000 4-year-olds would be entitled to participate in early education every year in California. Unlike most other investments, the effects of their preschool experiences could last a lifetime.

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Excerpted from a piece by Arthur J. Reynolds in 8216;Los Angeles Times8217;, May 24